reese



2 Sheets Sheet 1.

J. REESE.

Working Iron.`

Patented Oct. 6, 1868.

N. PEYERS. PHOTO-UTM Y 2 Sheets-#Sheet 2. *.I. REESE. Working Iron.

Patented Oct. 6, 1868.

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u. PE1ERS. PHOYaLrmoGRAPAE @einen gisten 'atrut @frn JACOB REES'I'), OF PITTSBURG, PEIINSYLVANIA.A

ALetters Patent o. 812,876, dated October, 1868; antedated October 2, 1868.

IMPROVED MAGE-INE FOR WORKING IRON.

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To ALL WnoM Ir MAY concierne` Be it known that I, JACOB REESE, ofthe city of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny, and State of Penny sylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machine for Working Iron; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Iii the ordinarymode of working wrought iron, the balls of heated metal, just as they come from the boiling or puddling-furnace, are placed in a sqneezer, and rolled 'into blooms of six or seven inchesV diameter, and of from fifteen to eighteen inches in'lengt-h. These blooms are then rolled, between muck rolls, intowhat. are

called muck-bars. Such rolls require numerous grooves, of different sizes, in order to reduce the bars to the width and thickness required, which fact renders the muck-rolls very expensive; and, as the bars must be transferred from one side o f the rolls to the other during the process of rolling, a considerable'amount'of skilled labor is required, with a correspondingr increase of expense. The cost of rolling muck-hars is found to be about one dollarier ton. To save all or the greater part of the cost and labor required by this process, .as vWell as to obviate other objections hereinafter tobe noticed, I `have devised a machine, automatic in its-operation, for

lworking the balls of iron 'produced in a puddling or boiling-furnace by compression, so as 4to form muck-bars without the intermediate' process of the use of the squeezer, and Without the useiof rollers, or,.if the yuse of the sqneezer is preferred, to reduce blooms to bars by means of compression, as distinguished from the process of l rolling.-

The nature of my invention consists inl the application, for the purposejust named, of Icompressifngdies of such shape, and so combined with and operated by cams, as that the balls or blooms, when fed into the machine, sha-ll he drawn through, and, at the same time, thoroughly worked, as well as reduced to the required size and shape, and then discharged `from the machine in the form of a bar, the length of which is limited, not the size of any single ball, but by the number of Vballs or quantity of iron fed into the machine.

'To enable others skilled in the art -to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and inode of operatonrefcrring, for that purpose, to the'accompanying drawings, making a part of this i specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a top view of my machine.

lFigure 2 is a vertical front elevation. Figure 3 is a vertical rear elevation. Figure 4 is a Vertical cross-section through the line x x, iig. l; and Figure 5 is a face view of the guid'c used in cach civ the side dies. Figures 6 to 13 are designed to represent the action of the machine in uniting into one'continuous bar successive balls of iron.

i Like lettersof reference, in the diifervent'iignrcs, indicate like parts.. Y

A is a housing, of any converiiient construction, resting on a bed or foundation, B. a a, a a', the relative positions ofv which are shown in g. 4, are similar shafts, carrying, nearly or exactly midway between their ends, the eccentrics c e, c ci', respectively, and being furnished, near their ends, with the lateral cams e e, e c. D and Dl are two reciprocating and compressing dic-blocks or jaws, so shaped and so hung on the eccentri'cs c c', that the lower face of the one, D, aiid thc upper face ofthe other, D, shall approach each other, toward the rear of the machine, and so that they shall, when operated, move in a vertical direction, and alternately toward and from each other.

E and E are two non-reci rocatin com ressincr die-blocks or cheeklates with inner faces nearl or nite P g o 1 parallel to each other, and so adjusted on the shafts a a that they shall be made to approach each other by the action of the lateral cams e e', but have no longitudinal or reciprocating motion, as thejaws D D have. therefore distinguish the cheek-plates E E as non-reciprocating compressing diefblocks, and tliejaws D D as reciprocating and compressing die-blocks. l I

Wedges b are attached to the verticallymoving jaws D D in such a way that, as the latter recede 'from each other to the position shown in tig. 2, thel cheek-plates E E may approach each other, under the action of satie 2 the lateral cams e e', as already stated, and so alsothat, whcn the jaws D D approach each other, under the action of,v the eccentrics e c', the wedges b will cause the cheek-plates E E( to recede from each other to the position shown in rear view, in iig. 3. Thus' the vertically-moving jaws D D' close when thev cheek-plates E E open, and vice versa.

The motion `required to operate the devices named may be communicated through a pulleyor band-wheel, m, shaft m', and'any desirable arrangement of gear-wheels, n, or in other known or convenient manner.

lis a fiy-whecl of the usual construction.

To the front of the machine is attached an inclined feeding-trough or fore-plate, C, on which to place the balls or blooms to be-fed intothe machine', and so situated that the balls or blooms placed thereon will come opposite to the opening between the dies. j

The cams which produce the lateral motion of the cheek-plates E E are shaped like the crabs ordinarily used for throwing shafting in and out of gear, being circular disks placed concentrically on the shafts a a', having inclined faces, like the thread of a'screw, but facing in opposite directions, andv terminating in a shoulder or step, e, the depth of which is equal to the throw of the die. These crabs are operated in a direction thc reverse of their use for gearingso that, instead ofthe shoulders s s interfering, and causing them to operate as a clutch, they merely serve as cams, to produce a reciprocating motion;

The amount of motion to he given to the jaws D D is regulated by the amount of the eccentricity ofthe circular kcams .e c", on their respective shafts a a.

The cheek-plates E E are grooved longitudinally on` their inner faces,l so as to receive and hold, by a dovetailjoint, the removable dies f, which have each aprojecting face,f, tapering gradually in breadth from front to rear, as shown in 5, its breadth, at any one. point, being at least equal tothe distance between the jaws D D at that point at the moment of bite.

The devices described being in the position shown in iig. 2, a puddle-ball or bloom, as the case may be, is laid on thefore'plate 0,111: the front aperture g, between the dies. Then, bythe proper motions, communicated through the gearing n, the eccentrics c c throw the jaws D D first forward, as shown in iig. 1, and then toward each other, as shown in fig. 4, giving to them a reciprocating as well as compressing action, whereby they will grip the ball or bloom by its forward end, and compress it somewhat, and, with their backward motion, as produced by the further revolution of the eccentrics c c', will draw the ball or bloom in between the cheek-plates E Ef, which have a non-reciprocating compressing action,which, in the meantime, have been separated by the wedges b, as already described. Then, as thejazws D D separate, and lose their hold on the ball or bloom, and

move forward for a new bite,.the cheek-plates E E', being actuated by the lateral cams c c', will move. towards each other, seize the ball or bloom, com-press it laterally, if need' be, between the projecting faces f of the dies f, and prevent its moving backwards, since the vertical dies move in that direction to take hold of the mass of iron ata point when their bite is narrower. The upper jaw D and lower jaw D then, in tlie'same manner and by a repetition of the same motions, take a new grip on the ball or bloom, compress it still more,carr`y it forward as the bite ofthe diesfin the cheek-plates E E is. loosened, and so on alternately till the ball or bloom passes out at the rear of the machine through the smaller aperture g in aimuck-bar shape, and of the desired width and thickness. If a bloom is passed through the machine, it is con'ipressed and worked with a narrower bite, at each stroke, until it is reduced to the shape of a long bar. If a puddle-bar is put into the machin'e, it is similarly squeezed, compressed, and worked; the operation of the machine dispensing with the necessity of using a squeczerto remove the cinder and forma bloom, because the mass of iron is kneaded and worked in a manner unlike that of the operation of either squeezing or rolling, a feature which is peculiar to my machine and especially adapted to the purpose. A continuous muck-bar may be formed by my machine from separate balls of iron, inserted one after the other, the pieces being united together in the machine. This union of the separate balls is effected by the peculiar action of' thc vertical and side dies, because, although the side dies hold the mass of'irop in place and prevent its being carried backwards by the rctrogression of the vertical dies, yet, when the vertical dies squeeze the iron, they reduce it in thickness, and the excess of iron is forced back` wards, owing to the space between the vertical dies reducing in size from rear to front, as shown in fig. 5. By this means the iron thus forced backwards meets thc second ball of iron, which is inserted immediately after thc first one, and the two masses are united; so a third ball may be introduced, and a fourth, and so on until the muck-bar is produced of any desired length. i l

The action of my machine upon the masses of iron subjected to its influence differs materially from that of either rolls or hammers, this difference resulting from the peculiar nature of the operation. Iron, whether worked by rolling or ham mering,is more fibrous on the surface than at or near the centre of the mass, and itis well known tn the trade that itis found impossible, hy the ordinary modes of working ironyto make large masses of iron as solid and fibrous at the centre as at the surface.

In rolling iron the article is greatest at the surface of the mass, and iron which at first was granular in texture is drawn out in one direction, but more on the surface than elsewhere, the drawing action decreasing towards the centre, and as the rolls are set ata fixed distance apart, and have only a small bite on the metal, they have very little squeezing action, but draw the iron from the surface, leaving the centre very much in the same granular condition as when it entercdthc rolls.

'lhc effect of hammering is different from that of rolling. The faces of the hammers are flat and usually parallel. If a round ball of iron is placed under a hammer, the effect is to separate the edges, so that a small globular piece would be flattened and assume the shape of a stur. l-Iammering, therefore, while it condenses the iron, serves to destroy the fibre and make its granular.

My machine obviates the difiicultics and objections both to hammering and rolling, as it works the whole mass from centre to circumference simultaneously', and draws it out so as greatly to increase its fibrous quality.

In ig's. 6 to 13, the effect produced by my machine in drawing the fibre ofthe iron, and uniting and welding together masses orballs inserted successively into the machine,.is exhibited by the differ/ent coloring, the light portions representing one piece of iron and the darker portions representing the other. l v

lFigs. 6 and 8 represent the effect of my machine in shaping and uniting two balls of iron, oneiof which is inserted after the other has been acted upon for about five or six revolutions of the machine. The machine forms the first ball into a wedge-shaped mass, but gradually the rear end also becomes pushed backwards and elongated, until it meets and is forced into the body of the second ball, which has new been inserted... Thus the iron of one piece is lapped over the other on top and bottom, and also at the sides, forming the mostperfect :scarng and welding that can possibly be obtained.

It is not necessary to illustrate the various changes produced on the successive masses of iron. As the mass passes out at the forward end of the machine, it assumes the ilat, even surface shown in fig. 10,y and a bar made from six successive balls, inserted into the machine at short intervals, is united and welded together, as shown in fig. 11. v v

These successive balls are not required to touch each otherwhen inserted into the machine. All that'is necessary is to keep the iron fed in so fast, that the iron which is inadvance may meet the iron which succeeds it by the advance of the latter and the retroeession of the former, as before e'z'rplained.

I have ascertained, by actual experiment, that by my machine, in a bar of only halfinch wide, the pieces are united by a four-tongued lap-weld of over two inches long.

The advantages attending this mode of working puddle-balls or reducing blooms to muck-bars, are" numerous:

First, the iron isacted on only vby a compressing force, which operates at every pointnearly at right angles to the surface of the bloom. Hence the bar produced has greater solidity than when ,drawm asiit must be Ain the process of rolling, and has sound, smooth, uniform edges, which feature itself is a great saving, as the rough', ragged, or irregular edges of rolled muck-bars are a cause of waste in the heating-furnace, and are reduced to smooth, sound edges in the further rolling onlywith great difficulty and waste of material.

Second, the cost 'of labor in passing the blooms through the muck-rolls, one dollar per ton, as above stated, is almost entirely saved, besides the labor and cost of passing the puddle-ball through the squeezers, since my machine is automatic in its operation, feeds itself after the bloom is placed in position, and discharges the complete bar. Y I

Third, the-great rapidity with which it performs its work. Thus, at every revolution ofthershafts a a', the'dies compress the iron and carry itforward from one to three inches, more or less, according to the amount of throw which they receive. With a throw of from three to six inches at each revolution, and a speed of one hundred revolutions per minute, an amount of motion which I iind perfectly practicable, my machine will turn out from twenty-five to fty feet of muck-bar per minute, which is several times the average capacity of a goed pair of muck-rolls.

Fourth, in rolling, the irn is apt tofollow the roll and form collars around it, which, becoming welded as the roll revolves, are removed only after considerable labor and great loss of time, and often with the loss of the puddling, which is donc or being done when the work is thus interrupted. To prevent the iron from followf ing the roll, the guides are not a complete remedy, as they speedily become blunt from constant use and frequent heating; but with my machinethis diiculty is wholly obviated. There is no rotarymotion by which a collar can .be formed, and the machinefis free from all tendencyto clog 0r be otherwise obstructed in its operation.

Fifth, a greatly-reduced first cost of the necessary machinery, since, in the ordinary process, rolls, with` different arrangements of grooves, are required to produce muck-bars of the various widths required. Such rolls, especially if, as is usually vthe case, a number are required, involve a considerable outlay, One compressing-machine,provided with a proper assortment of dies, f, as hereinafter to be described, is much less costly, as well as far more efficient and more durable, and is amply suiiicient to meet the demands ofa single mill. The diesfmay be made thicker or thinner at pleasure, so as to lessen or increase correspondingly the width of the muck-bar produced, and the faces, f', maystand out more or less prominently at pleasure. In like manner the vertically-moving dies or jaws may be provided with removable faces or die-plates, which, in both cases, may be easily renewed, when broken or worn out, with but slight expense, little delay, and no injury to the lother parts of the machine.

Sixth, all bars rolled have ns thrown up ontheir upper edges, to remove which the roller haste turn hisr bar frequently; but in my machine the dies are wider than the required bar, so that a iin cannot be formed. In this way trouble and labor are saved, and a better edge is secured to the bar produced. f

If it be desirable, the cheek-plates E E may also have a forward motion similar to that of the verticallymoving jaws D D, vor the latter may have only a vertical or compressing motion, and the forward or feeding .motion be communicated by the cheek-plates E E. Theeccentrics and cams should, in any such case` be so ,arranged as to securethe motions desired.

I do not confine myself' to any particular arrangement of cams and eceentrics, or to any particularmode of operating them, though practically I prefer the arrangement of devices andthe motions above set forth. Of the dies which only compress the iron, one may be stationary, if so preferred.

The shape of the working faces of the dies may assume different modifications. They may be flat, concave, convex, half round, oval, or of such other shape or shapes as may be desired, in connection with the Work described. I thus adapt my machine to the making not only of muck-bars, but also of other heavy articles of slab or bar iron, of either regular or irregular shape, such as heretofore have'beer `produced only by rollmg or hammering.

Armor-plates for ships, and other heavy sheet`ing-plates or slabs, may be thus made. Also rails, girders, and other iron ot' irregular shape in cross-section may thus be made to great advantage, as the dies may readily be so made as to swage up or down any projections that may be required. This, in the ordinary process of' manufacture, can be d`one only by hammering or passing the bar between rolls edgewise, either of which ways is attended with a loss of time, labor, and expense. One of my machines, fitted with the proper dies, will produce, by its own automatic motion, plate, slab, rail, or bar iron of almost any desirablc'size or shape.

The 'shape ofthe different parts ef my machine is such, that each may be made of any required degree of solidity, so that the danger of breakage and of loss by wear and tear is reduced to a minimum.

What I claim as `my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a pair of reciprocating and compressing die-blocks or jaws with oneor a pair of nonreciprocating compressing die-blocks or cheek-plates, acting perpcndicularly thereto and alternately therewith, substantially as described.

' 2. An arrangement of mechanism for imparting to one or both of a'pair of compressing die-blocks a reciprocating movement simultaneously or alternately with a movement of approach toward or recession from each other: substantially as described.

3. In combination with one or more compressing die-blocks, a pair of reciprocating and compressing dieblocks, the coasting-faces of which are, in their normal condition, more widely separated from one another at the point where the metal' is introduced between them than at the point where the metal is extruded from them, substantially as described.

4. In combination with one or more compressing die-blocks, a pair of reciprocating compressing die-blocks, the coacting-surfaces of which, one or both, are curved, substantially as described, for the purpose, in part, of permitting and aiding to produce a more or less retrograde or backward movement et' the metal while thesame is being acted on, alternating with the general forward movement of the same, substantially as hereinbei'ore Vset forth. Y

`5. In combination with a pair of reciprocating and compressing die-blocks, operating substantially in the manner described, an inclined feeding-trough, for guiding and facilitating the forward movement of the bloom or puddle-ball tonand between said die-blocks, substantially as herein described.

6. As a whole, the improved machine, consisting of the several parts, constructed and combined substan. tially as and for the purpose described. A

In testimony whereoi` I, the said JACOB REESE, have hereunto set my hand.

JACOBV REESE.

Witnesses;

A. S. NICHOLSON, Gt H. CHRISTY. 

